I just tacked the four corners and then welded it, tig welding is relatively small welds and cooler. I was not worried about the heat treat in the rear at all. I would use steel if I was you and like you said, use a 20 moa mount. The 54R runs out of steam at 1000 yards and I actually wound up using a Near manufacturing 30 moa ring mount setup, it isnt in any of those pics because they are all old pics.

But I had a problem with running out of elevation on my scopes and was hitting about 20 feet low at a 1000. I also had problems with keyholeing until I got my loads up to 2600 feet per second. After that I had no more problems. It is common for 308 rifles to start keyholeing at around 850 yards when the bullet starts going subsonic. You need to use bullets that are no lighter than 175 grains and push them at least 2600 fps.

ETA: If you guys need any load data. let me know I have a couple of pet loads.

Randalloc wrote:Krink N Stein,Awesome build and I have seen the results.. and figured you did not weld the front end. As for the rear end did you do all the Tig welding in one session or do it in stages due to heat concerns or since its in the rear and the bolts seem a bit loose anyways in the MoNa rear it seems a lot of warping would have to happen to screw things up back in the rear imho. My approach was planned to either weld the rear and set a scope mount over it in aluminum(limited funds for now) but I know steel would be best and tap and screw the front and rear and bed it with a 20 moa mount.

Not to but in, but I moved the bolt handle back and closed the rear bridge on a '43 Izhevsk... I D&T'd it so that I can use modified SA REM 700 bases.

It's just waiting for me to chamber/spin the barrel on... Something I plan on doing in the next month or so. But you can read about it here. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2297

KRINK_N_STIEN wrote:But I had a problem with running out of elevation on my scopes and was hitting about 20 feet low at a 1000. I also had problems with keyholeing until I got my loads up to 2600 feet per second. After that I had no more problems. It is common for 308 rifles to start keyholeing at around 850 yards when the bullet starts going subsonic. You need to use bullets that are no lighter than 175 grains and push them at least 2600 fps.

What scope were you running?? That's crazy that you are running out of elevation <1,000 yds... The 7.62x54R is fairly similiar (external ballistically) to the .308, and with the M118LR you can reach 1,000 with a scope that has roughly 80 MOA total elevation.

KRINK_N_STIEN wrote:ETA: If you guys need any load data. let me know I have a couple of pet loads.

Definitely post up some recipes...

The favorite here is by far IMR 4350... though lots of guys use Varget, Accurate 4350, and H380.

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." Thomas Jefferson

It only has 70 moa of elevation adjustment. Kind of pathetic when I have Tasco super snipers with 110 moa! Anyway I looked at your 220 AI thread, nice work I like your rear bridge idea and I also liked the way you did your bolt handle and cocking piece to simulate the Accuracy Intl look. I too am building a 220 swift right now but on a german mauser action, I am close to being finished.

My load I use for 1000 yard comps is 51.9 grains of winchester 760 in Lapua brass with 178 grain Amax bullets.

It only has 70 moa of elevation adjustment. Kind of pathetic when I have Tasco super snipers with 110 moa! Anyway I looked at your 220 AI thread, nice work I like your rear bridge idea and I also liked the way you did your bolt handle and cocking piece to simulate the Accuracy Intl look. I too am building a 220 swift right now but on a german mauser action, I am close to being finished.

My load I use for 1000 yard comps is 51.9 grains of winchester 760 in Lapua brass with 178 grain Amax bullets.

Wow!! I've got the same scope w/ 1/4 MOA adjustments... I had no idea that they had only 70 MOA total of internal travel. I bought it used for less than $700 and I didn't even look at the specs...

Yes, the SWFA SS scopes are pretty popular around here... I've got a fixed ten power on my first MN project. I've got around 72 MOA up from my 100 yd zero, and had enough elevation to dial for a 1360 yd shot. I was shooting the 174 grain SMK (.311") at 2721 fps.

Thanks for the kind words... I hope to be finishing her up soon! Definitely looking forward to stretching her legs, I'm really hoping that I can get 3500+ fps with 80 grain VLD's. Once I get her together, and the metal finished, most people won't even know that she's a Mosin Nagant.

Thanks for the load info... We've got copies of different load data from different books, though we might have to start a thread for pet loads.

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." Thomas Jefferson